FRIDAY 6/21/24
To Be Fired by a Cannon? -- Mar-a-Lagogate, the case by special prosecutor Jack Smith against Donald J. Trump for keeping classified documents from his expired administration in his Florida compound, was once considered the strongest criminal case against the former president. After all, evidence has appeared media-wide in which Trump is showing off the documents to people who definitely do not have clearance or executive privilege.
Now, as Judge Aileen Cannon (above) continues to slow-walk the trial, Trump's attorneys have Smith & Co. in her Ft. Pierce, Florida federal court to argue whether Smith was unconstitutionally appointed or is otherwise prosecuting the case without legal authority. Politico calls it a "far-fetched bid by Trump to scuttle the case altogether." Legal and political pundits are watching closely to see how far-fetched the argument under the Trump-appointee is.
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THURSDAY 6/20/24
Block Comstock? – Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) plans to introduce legislation to repeal the Comstock Act Thursday, the 1873 law that Democrats worry Republicans will use in a second Trump administration to bar abortion-related materials from being sent through the mail, The Washington Post reports. As The New York Times reported in a front-page story Sunday, Democrats at various government levels have begun a concerted pre-emptive effort to try and block the most controversial of Trump’s agenda should he win the presidential election this November.
“There is a very clear, well-organized plan afoot by the MAGA Republicans to use Comstock as a tool to ban medicated abortion, and potentially all abortions,” Smith said.
Donald J. Trump, whose appointment of three conservative Supreme Court justices in his administration overturned Roe v. Wade has provided confusing messages on his anti-abortion agenda and has suggested it is a states’ issue.
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Target the Money – Efforts to cut the supply of street fentanyl shipped from China to Mexico are failing despite a crackdown Presidents Biden and Xi Jinping agreed to last November, so the Treasury Department will take up the cause by following the money. Treasury Sec. Janet Yellen Thursday is to announce in Atlanta Thursday measures to go after the cash international drug networks generate in selling street fentanyl in the US, NPR’s Morning Edition reports.
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JUNETEENTH 2024
Russia, North Korea v. NATO – Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un signed a partnership deal Wednesday to counter what they see as a threat from NATO. The deal includes a vow of mutual aid if either nation faces “aggression,” the AP reports, and is perhaps the strongest connection between Moscow and Pyongyang since the Cold War.
Trumpy v. Trumpier – Virginia State Sen. John McGuire’s Republican primary challenge to Rep. Bob Good, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus is “too close to call” the AP reports Wednesday. McGuire, who has Donald J. Trump’s endorsement because Good supported Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ failed presidential run, led Good by just 327 votes out of 62,495. McGuire also had support from former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who seeks revenge against Good for joining Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) motion last year to vacate McCarthy as House speaker. The counting of ballots is off for Juneteenth and will resume on Thursday.
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TUESDAY 6/18/24
Just Friends – Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is on his first visit to North Korea in 24 years, where he meets Tuesday with the son of the dictator he visited in July 2000, for a two-day grip-and-grin. That’s on the surface, of course; Putin gets conventional weapons it is running short of, after more than two years invading Ukraine, including artillery shells and short-range ballistic missiles, according to USA Today. North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un (pictured) gets much-needed flour, cooking oil and energy from Russia in exchange, according to NPR’s Morning Edition.
Then, on Wednesday, Putin departs for a visit to Vietnam. While it’s Putin’s first visit since Kim Jong Il led the Hermit Kingdom, son Kim Jong Un took an “enormous” and luxurious armored train to visit Putin in Russia just last September.
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Biden and the Border – As Republican attacks on President Biden’s lack of border action continues, the White House Tuesday is expected to announce a “people in place” policy to allow nearly 500,000 undocumented spouses of legal US citizens work permits and protection from deportation, per Newsweek and the Associated Press.
Meanwhile in Iowa … A federal judge Monday blocked Iowa’s attempt to take border control into its own hands by enforcing its own law making it illegal to enter the state after being deported or denied entry into the US (per The New York Times). Imitating an effort by Texas, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) had signed a bill to allow state law enforcement to arrest and deport undocumented aliens.
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MONDAY 6/17/24
Netanyahu Dissolves War Cabinet – With moderate Benny Gantz and two-stater Gani Eisenkot having resigned the war cabinet set up after Hamas’ October 7 attack against Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu (above), the Israeli prime minister, announced Monday he is dissolving said war cabinet. Seen as largely a symbolic gesture and meant to take power from defense ministers, according to Haaretz, war strategy is now transferred to the security cabinet. “Sensitive” decisions will be addressed in smaller consultation form with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi and Shas Party Chair Aryeh Deri.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu has granted 11-hour pauses per day in South Gaza to protect deliveries of humanitarian aid, according to The Washington Post. The pauses do not amount to a ceasefire, as fighting continues unabated elsewhere in Gaza.
At the Lebanese border … Rocket exchanges between Israeli Defense Forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah heated up in the last week, according to NPR’s Morning Edition, with Hezbollah firing rockets into Israel for Hamas. Israel has been hitting Hezbollah targets across the Lebanese border.
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Support to Ukraine – At the Burgenstock resort in Switzerland over the weekend, 78 countries and four European institutions signed a peace summit’s joint communique to end Russia’s war on Ukraine, The Kyiv Independent reports. Russia was not invited, and China, which was, did not show up.
The US announced $1.5 billion in aid for Ukraine, including support for the country’s energy infrastructure.
Ukraine said it used “at least 70” drones in an attack on Russia’s Morozovsk airbase, while Russia has launched 3,500 missiles per month on civilian targets and infrastructure.
Ukraine also says Russia suffered 4,000 casualties per month in its Kharkiv offensive.
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Conviction Hits Trump Support – A new Ipsos/Politico Magazine poll finds that 21% of independents surveyed are less likely to vote for Donald J. Trump after his business records/hush money conviction last month. While significant in what is expected to be a tight race up to November 5, the poll also notes that many Trump supporters and independents remain skeptical of motivations behind the trial.
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Up on the Hill -- The House is on break this week and the Senate is in session Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, with Wednesday off for observance of Juneteenth.
--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa